High School Redesign
Leading the Redesign of the American High School Model: ESSER Funding makes this a perfect opportunity to meet the needs of this moment
It’s an early fall afternoon in 2020, and I am meeting (over Zoom, of course) with the leadership team of Círculos High School, an XQ school in Santa Ana,…
High School Redesign
How LAB Internships Are Setting Up Scholars for Success Inside and Outside the Classroom
Brooklyn LAB piloted its co-curricular internship program this past summer, allowing scholars to join seven organizations for six weeks of hands-on, experiential learning in an animation studio, digital marketing agency, and more.
High School & Society
The NASBE Interview: Russlynn Ali on High School Transformation
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the world. Entire systems adapted to a new normal, shifting their infrastructure and processes to a remote world. COVID-19 changed the way we work, how we spend our free time, and—most importantly—how we care for and educate young people.
High School Life
What Happened to Reading for Fun? And What Can We Do About It?
You know you’ve got a problem when you’re afraid to check your screen time. Over the past year and a half, I’ve started dreading my weekly average report every Sunday, as the hours I spent on my phone each day steadily climbed with every month in lockdown.
High School & Society
Finding Resiliency: Students Open up About Gun Violence
Iowa Big Students who were interested in fighting against gun violence decided to use their voice by creating a documentary to humanize the individuals who have been personally touched by gun violence within their community.
High School & Society
5 Best of Resources to Build an Inclusive Classroom
America’s classrooms are more diverse than ever. To ensure that we are building schools that address biases and existing inequities, are inclusive to all students, and actively strive to be anti-racist, we’ve highlighted resources to help educators bring belonging into the classroom.
High School & Society
What Do Parents Want Educators to Know as Students Return to School in the Fall?
Last year brokedown communication between students, educators, and parents, leaving us in the dark of how students experienced the pandemic and its repercussions. How do we create safe spaces for students who are experiencing financial hardship, racial tension, or fear of ongoing domestic terrorism?
High School Redesign
The Future of Education Requires Students and Teachers to Lead the Way
Nationwide, schools weren’t prepared to withstand the shock that COVID-19 pandemic sent through the system. Now, as we plan for a return to the physical classroom, school leaders and educators have an opportunity to push for educational equity.
High School & Society
Equity and ESSER: How Schools Can Embrace a Participatory Approach to Amplify Family Voices in Budget Planning
Schools across the country have a welcome task this summer: deciding how to spend a windfall in federal stimulus funds. Brooklyn Lab is doing that by asking families for their insights.
High School Redesign
Recommendations to Support High School Transformation
Policymakers and education leaders are making critical decisions and providing important details on how ARP ESSER funding will be spent. Every dollar matters, and it’s not enough to spend more. We must spend smarter—more imaginatively, efficiently, and effectively.
High School Redesign
Federal COVID Relief Funds Are Available to States and Districts. Let’s Invest Them in High School Transformation.
ARP ESSER funding offers America a chance to examine what’s working in education, develop individualized pathways that accelerate student learning, and create coalitions to build a truly fair and effective education system.
Beyond High School Graduation
Students Reflect on What It Means to Be the First Graduates of a High School Designed Just for Them
Círculos, an XQ school in Santa Ana, California, was designed for students with a community at the center. Four years later, the revolutionary school graduates its first class.
High School & Society
Brown Ballerinas for Change: What One Organization Can Teach Us About Dance, Artivism, and Empowering Young People
Learn more about why we’re inviting students ages 13 to 21 to tell their story through movement and dance based on what we learned from the organization Brown Ballerinas for Change.
High School & Society
12th Grade NAEP Science Results Confirm It’s Time for High School Transformation. And ARP Can Help.
On May 25, 2021, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published results from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Science. NAEP science test results—along with the results of the 2019 NAEP assessments in math and reading released late last year—are fundamental to our understanding of the state of our nation’s high schools.
High School Life
How Youth Climate Activist Jerome Foster II Became the Voice for One Million Young People
XQ schools empower students not only to dream of the future, but gives them the tools to make those dreams a reality. Learn more about how Jerome Foster II became the voice for one million young people.
High School & Society
Repeal the Invisible Tax on Educators of Color
Black educators move through the profession carrying an extra burden that often pushes Black educators out of the profession. Director of the Center for Black Educator Development Sharif El-Mekki discusses this “Invisible Tax” and proposes solutions to keep educators of colors in the classroom.
High School Redesign
How This STEM Teacher Keeps Her Students Engaged with Project and Place-Based Learning
Remote school has challenged how we create meaningful learning experiences for our students. XQ schools are using place-based and project-based learning to increase student engagement in meaningful ways.
High School & Society
What Is Citizenship Education and Why Is it Important?
Citizenship education demonstrates how schools play an important role in creating an informed electorate through interdisciplinary and holistic education. It seeks to cut across all subject areas, integrating many skills and competencies that will benefit students throughout their lives as individuals, community members, citizens, and professionals.
High School & Society
It’s Time to Start Decolonizing America’s History Textbooks
America’s history is complex, contradictory, confusing, and often quite ugly. However, we choose to teach a simplified, incomplete, and whitewashed version to our young people and throughout higher education. It’s time to change that.
Beyond High School Graduation
How to Find Internships in High School (Advice From a College Intern)
The internship search doesn’t have to be intimidating. To help, we’re going to break down everything from networking to interviewing, and get you set up for success. There’s an abundance of challenging and exciting internships out there, you just need the right tools and resources to sort through them.
High School & Society
School Reopening Plans Offer a Chance to Rethink High Schools
Use reopening plans to re-imagine current educational practices. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a pressure test on our education system—the crisis exacerbated inequalities; wholly disrupted the lives of educators, students, and families; and upended the very notion of what counts as “school”—making it clear that the system, as it exists now, cannot hold.
High School & Society
Remote Learning Insights: The Role of the Student Is Shifting
How are students adjusting and examining the new skills they are learning? In the wake of COVID-19 closures, students are playing an active role in creating educational experiences with a strong equity focus. They have the capacity to truly lead their own learning and create engaging learning experiences themselves.
High School Redesign
Here’s what these D.C. teachers are bringing back from a school visit to L.A.
When teachers can talk about the challenges they face as well as the innovations they’ve developed, real learning happens. Here’s what two schools on opposite sides of America have learned from each other.
High School Redesign
5 Resources for Developing a Strong School Mission & Culture
A unifying set of values ensures every stakeholder is not only accountable but committed to helping every student realize their full potential—regardless of who they are or where they come from. Here are 5 resources to get you started.
High School Redesign
XQ’s High School Reading List for Black History Month (And Every Month)
There are big representation gaps in the book publishing industry, and the power to close them is in the hands of educators. Here are a few titles to use in your classroom during Black History Month and every month.
High School Redesign
The Key to Understanding School Design? Collaboration!
School design can help ensure that students are provided with an environment conducive to increased levels of engagement. School design is most effective when complemented by a rigorous, creative, and innovative curriculum that puts students first every step of the way. Here’s how.
High School & Society
Community of Practice: What is it, how to run one, and why does it matter?
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Learn how the power of convening can help rethink high school.
High School & Society
7 teacher tips for supporting students who’ve experienced trauma
Students who’ve survived early childhood adversity or trauma – such as violence, abuse, or a death in the family – can have unique needs in the classroom. Here are some tips to meet those students where they’re at.
High School & Society
Celebrating Hispanic heritage, this month and all year round
Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, is commemorated across the country with festivals, exhibits, concerts, awards, lectures, and other events to honor the myriad contributions of Latinx people to American culture. How should schools be a part of this national movement?
